Hell en Pointe | Alastor ✓

chapter 9

"Alastor is trying to gain more power?" Vox slammed his fist down on the table in frustration.

The atmosphere of Cannibal Town smelled richly of fresh blood and death and grime alike, although, at this cafe in particular (whose signature drink was caffeinated human guts), smelled faintly like diffused oranges. It was warm here, but colder than most of Hell.

Vox, wearing his usual attire, who had also picked it up freshly from the dry cleaners this morning, sat with a certain tall, classy-looking Overlord at "Jacque's Hellish Café" just in the center of Cannibal Town. She was the epitome of vintage, with gaping black holes in her eyes, a beautiful smile, and an overly large hat and elegant 1800s style outfit.

"You didn't hear it from me," she said as she sipped her coffee. As she set it down gracefully, Vox peered inside the cup. Unnerved and disgusted, he quickly assumed that the swirling dark red elixir with chunks of... God-knows-what inside must be the cafe's special — caffeinated human guts. Vox recoiled at the sight but try to play it off by readjusting himself in the chair.

"Why would you tell me this?" said Vox out of curiosity. He would've expected it to be a lot more difficult to get information out of Rosie — she is the Radio Demon's closest friend after all. But all he had to do was invite her to drinks at a local cafe for her to agree.

She was a hopeless romantic of sorts, playing it off like she was not interested initially, but eventually giving in and accepting his request. She surely knew that Vox and Alastor were enemies right...?

"Because if he goes through with it, he'll get himself killed," she said rather seriously, her smile drooping. "He wants to gain power by an old myth I told him. I never assumed the old man would take it seriously, but here we are. He just kept asking me more and more questions about the old tale, and I just kept telling him, hoping he was just bored and wanted to hear me talk."

"And?"

"And, in order to achieve this power he seeks, he'll have to travel to the Overworld and retrieve some personal items." Rosie took another sip. "He asked me if his old microphone and hunting knife would work — he always loved to hunt game with his bare hands — and I told him I suppose so. They held enough of his old life essence to be harnessed into Hellish power."

"What the hell did you just say?" said Vox, completely lost.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but did it with a gracious smile.

"Alastor wants more power. To do that, he has to go to the Overworld and collect his personal items from when he was human to harness their leftover human life essence in a ritual that will, ultimately, give him more power."

"Is that all?" asked Vox suspiciously.

"And he needs an ancient spell book located at Harvard College in Massachusetts to even know how to perform the spell," added Rosie with a matter-of-factly tone. "But yeah. That's all."

"Well, how the fuck is he even gonna get there?" said Vox, throwing his hands up. "It takes an immense amount of power rip open a portal to go the Overworld, power that even the strongest Overlord doesn't have."

"Well, what about two of the strongest Overlords?" She tilted her head.

Vox lit up and then demanded, "Explain."

"Let's just say a certain cat has been let out of the bag."

It took a moment for the metaphor to register in Vox's mind, but when it did, he perked up. "Hell en Pointe? She's not in the south anymore?"

"I don't know for sure, dear Vox," said Rosie with a hint of doubt. "But I've heard rumors. Sinners talk. My cannibals hear. They bring it to me."

Vox nodded in understanding. Then he slowly came to an agonizing realization. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists together on the table. "She's working with him? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Rosie clicked her tongue, her sharp-toothed smile wide. "Jealous, Vox? I knew you had a crush on her but you two haven't even ever met, aside from Overlord meetings."

"Oh, fuck you, you old hag. You hardly know me," said Vox angrily. "And I don't have a crush on her. I wish that dumbass rumor would just go ahead and fucking go away already!"

Rosie laughed heartily. "Say what you want, you big box, but all of Hell saw that broadcast of you reporting her arrival in Hell. Let's just say you event very... neutral." Her grin grew so wide Vox thought it may tear her face. "I believe the adjectives 'extremely powerful,' 'gorgeous,' and 'sexy legs' were used...?"

Vox's face burned with scarlet. Oh, how he wish he could forget. When you had first arrived in Hell and took power as an Overlord, let's just say Vox was very interested. He may have let a few terms slip in his report about it. Unintentionally, of course.

Valentino and Velvet would tease him about it whenever Miss Kitty's name was brought up, but other than that nobody really spoke about it too often, to his face at least. Now, as it turns out, maybe people think about that little broadcast a lot more often than he would like.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, fossil," Vox spat.

Rosie laughed loudly again. "Oh, Vox, you are simply a gas." Her smile faded in the blink of an eye. "Remember this. I have only told you this information because I don't want Alastor to get ahold of that power. If he does, he may not be able to control it. He may go mad. He may even disrupt the hierarchy of Hell." She shook her head and took another long sip of her coffee, finishing the disgusting brew and practically slamming it on the table, which was odd considering her usual delicate demeanor. "Stop him, if you can. And please, try not to kill him. He is my best friend, after all."

Vox grinned wildly. "Oh, don't worry. I won't." He would do a lot worse than that.